Kura-Kura
by blue-eyed angel
Summary: a new girl shows up at li-sama's house...her name's nadeshiko but what relationship does she have to sakura?...she says she got her name from her grandmother...but if sakura's her mother then who's the father...and when does she have shiko?...
1. I'd Like That

Though this may seem like another story I've written, but it really isn't. It's got a mainly different plot but also some parts are the same…I swear it's only by a coincidence. I hadn't thought of it till now so…  
  
Dedicated to the one and only megan!!! And I predict that she'll be my first reviewer!!!lol j/k I know that already cause I told her it's going up.  
  
Also to misty…erm…that's what you told me to call you…here's a little S+S to tide you over till I get up the china doll…  
  
Kura-Kura  
  
Chapter 1 – "I'd like that a lot"  
  
"Sakura-chan! Wait up!" Tomoyo called to her best friend.  
  
"Oh hi Tomoyo. Are you ready for that big math exam we were supposed to study for?" she asked anxiously pausing to let her friend catch up with her. Tomoyo nodded in response.  
  
"Let me guess, you tried but it didn't help?" she laughed at Sakura's pained expression. As they rounded the corner their high school came into view. They had just started their first year in Seijuu High and already the exams were raining down on them. They made it to homeroom just in time for the late bell and sat down in their seats.  
  
Sakura had finally gotten settled into the new routine and didn't look as disappointed that everyone who entered wasn't her Syaoran. Everyone told her to move on but she knew that one day Syaoran would come back to Tomoeda and when he did she swore up and down that she'd tell him how she felt. It was too bad he never called or wrote or kept in contact and gradually she forgot her promise and began to move on, even though deep down inside of her she knew she'd never give up on him. She met a nice guy in the grade above her and they had just become a couple. During the anthem she saw him walking through the halls, later than usual.  
  
After the anthem and the announcements, Sakura's math teacher made an announcement of her own.  
  
"There is a man living in the penguin park district who asked me to enquire to my students about a possible babysitter for his two little girls who are four and nine. He's a widower and he just moved here around a month ago and needs the help when he's gone. Is anyone willing to go?" she asked. Only Sakura's hand was raised. "Thank you Kinomoto-san. I'll let him know." Then the rest of the day went on like usual.  
  
"Kinomoto-san!" her math sensei cried catching Sakura as she was headed out of the doors. "Here's the man's address and his telephone number. His name is Li-kun, and his children's names are Tamashii who is four and Koji, short for Kojika, who is the nine year old. From what I've seen of them they are really sweet children." The sensei said and gave Sakura a small piece of paper with the information. She smiled and turned back to the building and walked back into the school.  
  
'Li-kun…' Sakura thought to herself thinking fondly about the ten-year-old boy she remembered. She caught herself before her thoughts went any further and shook her head trying to rid herself of those happy thoughts. 'He's not a part of my life now and besides I'm over him; I moved on.' She told herself, trying her hardest to believe her own words.  
  
She turned the corner and closed her eyes thinking of other things when she walked head first into someone tall. She stumbled backwards and felt a hand catch her arm before she hit the ground.  
  
"Gomen-nasai! Gomen, gomen." She repeated looking up at the man who was staring at her. She suddenly got a sense of importance emanating from him and shrank back in his glare. She managed a weak smile before walking around the man.  
  
"Are you Kinomoto-san?" the man asked, seeming to have just found his voice.  
  
"Um…yeah, why?" she asked and turned around to look more closely at the man.  
  
He was about six feet tall with rugged brown hair and warm amber eyes that were caught between a cold, glare and a loving look. He was wearing a large, dark green sweater with black jeans. He looked like he was about in his mid thirties.  
  
"My name is Li-sama." He introduced himself and stopped when he saw Sakura's shocked expression. "I believe your sensei told me you had offered to baby-sit for me. Thank you." He smiled slightly. Sakura recovered from her obvious shock from meeting this man who was so much like Syaoran, only older and responded politely to him.  
  
"It's really ok. I hope I'm a good baby-sitter for them." she exclaimed modestly and began to fidget slightly.  
  
"I know they'll love having you baby sit them." he said with a knowing look, then walked away. "I hope I'll hear from you soon on when you'll be able to start." He smiled, and Sakura swore she could hear him saying something beneath his breath to himself, which sounded like, 'I was such a baka!' but she dismissed it and walked home.  
  
"Kero-chan! Stop eating and listen to what I'm trying to tell you…he looked exactly like Syaoran would look when he's in his thirties. And he looked at me like he knew me. That's not possible is it?" Sakura asked the tiny yellow animal who was stuffing his face full of chocolate pudding, and for the most part, ignoring what Sakura was saying.  
  
"So maybe he's from the future." He exclaimed not really thinking about what he was saying.  
  
"Is that even possible?" she asked incredulously. He looked up at her with confusion.  
  
"Is what possible?" he asked. Sakura face faulted and fell to the ground.  
  
"Time travel." She answered.  
  
"No that's not possible. At least not that I know of. Why are we talking about time travel anyways?" he asked.  
  
"I thought that maybe that guy I met on my way home might be related to Syaoran. He doesn't have any uncles or a father, not that I know of anyways. Why should I care anyways? He's gone, I've moved on." She said again to herself. Kero had gone back to his pudding and ignored her.  
  
"Is Manoto-kun going to call or what?" she whispered aloud. Manoto Koshi was Sakura's boyfriend and they had been dating for a few months, ever since she had finally let Syaoran's memory rest in peace. Though Manoto was known to be a bit aggressive at times and sometimes took out his frustrations on her, she never found fault in him. She walked to her bedroom and pulled out the small slip of paper that her math sensei had given to her and decided to give Li-kun a call and work out a schedule for her job.  
  
"Li-kun residence, Kojika speaking." A young girl's voice answered on the third ring, sounding breathless.  
  
"Hi. This is Kinomoto Sakura. May I please speak with your father?" she asked as politely and maturely as she could. On the other end she heard the child gasp.  
  
"Kura-Kura!" she whispered, but a male voice came on before Sakura could ask what she had said.  
  
"Hello, Miss Kinomoto. Are you calling about our schedule?" he asked politely.  
  
"Um…yeah. I'm calling to tell you that I'm available everyday after school till about 9:00 pm and on Saturdays, too." She exclaimed to Li-kun.  
  
"That'll be great. I could use the baby-sitter all of those days. I get home around 6:30 though but you'd be welcome to have dinner with us and I could also drive you home. When can you start?" he asked, seeming quite friendly.  
  
"How about tomorrow after school?" she offered.  
  
"That would be needed. Do you have the address?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah. Oyasuminasai, Li-sama." She said before hanging up.  
  
"Wait, please call me Xiao Lang. No need to be so formal." He laughed slightly and hung up. Sakura sat on her bed holding the cell phone in her hands staring at it in shock.  
  
'Wasn't that Syaoran's Chinese name? I thought he told me that just before he left…NO! These are just coincidences. Syaoran is in Hong Kong and he's only fourteen…not thirty-five. He may be engaged but there's no way he could have children already…'she though to herself as she dropped the phone to her bed. 'Coincidences, coincidences, they're nothing but coincidences.' She repeated to herself again.  
  
"I'M OVER HIM!" she screamed and buried her head in her pillows and began to cry. "I'm over him, I really am." She whispered. Kero flew into the room and floated over his mistress as he watched her cry herself to sleep. He was beginning to worry about the stress 'the kid' was putting her through even while in Hong Kong, thousands of miles away.  
  
The next afternoon, Sakura walked to Li-sama's house, lugging her oversized backpack with her. That day every teacher seemed to pile on the homework till someone's bag split apart at the seams. She climbed up the stairs to a lovely detached house and pressed the doorbell. She waited quietly for a few seconds, then someone answered the door. It was a small little girl with short auburn hair tied up in similar fashion to her own. She had her father's dazzling brown eyes and little rosy cheeks. She looked about three or four.  
  
"You must be Tamashii. My name is Kinomoto Sakura and I'm your baby- sitter." Sakura greeted the child pleasantly and gave her a warm smile. The little girl's face froze in awe and she nodded her head.  
  
"'Akura!!!" she squealed when she finally was able to talk. "Papa! Kura- Kura's here!!!" she called after her father and then went bounding into the house leaving the door wide open.  
  
"Come on in!" a voice cried to Sakura from the kitchen, inviting her inside.  
  
Quietly, Sakura walked into the house, shutting the door behind her. She slipped off her shoes and walked into the house. This time another girl came into view, stepping out from the kitchen. In every aspect she was the feminine version of her father. She was tall for her age but she was very well built so her height wasn't noticeable. She had tousled brown hair, like her father's and it came out just past her shoulders. She had piercing brown eyes that held no emotion except a small lingering pain, which expressed a burden that no one should have to bear. They were filled with sorrow, but they softened a bit when she saw Sakura. She nodded her head in hello but didn't smile. She reminded Sakura of Syaoran when he had first came to Tomoeda.  
  
"Otousan's just trying to make us dinner. The key word here is trying." She cracked a small smile which didn't last very long and gave Sakura a small sense of honour at being privileged enough to see it. She turned back to the kitchen and led Sakura to her father.  
  
"Konnichiwa, Li-sama." She greeted the man who was bent over the stove with beads of sweat on his forehead. He looked frustrated.  
  
"Konnichiwa Kinomoto-san, how were you always able to make such good food?" he greeted her.  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked and gave the man a confused look. He looked up at her and for a few seconds he seemed confused at her question, like the answer was obvious, but then he shook his head dismissively.  
  
"Never mind. I was just thinking about my late wife." He said and turned quickly back to his dinner.  
  
"She wasn't your wife." Koji reminded him. "At least not yet…"  
  
Li-sama turned around to his daughter and looked at her painfully, as though her words hurt him.  
  
"She always felt like my wife and she should have been if I didn't screw up my life so much." He said gaining his composure and lifted the pot of boiling liquid off of the stove. He took the stuff to the sink and poured it down the sink.  
  
"Kinomoto-san, can you make a half decent dinner for them? I'll add that to your baby-sitting money?" he pleaded.  
  
"Sure!" she agreed quickly. "But you don't have to give me extra money." She added while going to the fridge.  
  
"Can you make konnyaku?" Tamashii asked. Both Sakura and Li-sama made a disgusted face.  
  
"Um…no, not really. Is there something else you want?" she asked going through the contents of the fridge.  
  
"How about egg noodles? Or sushi? Or teriyaki chicken with steamed rice?" Koji offered a list.  
  
"I like konnyaku!" Tamashii cried in protest. Li-sama picked up the little girl.  
  
"I can make that tomorrow for you." He whispered softly to the girl. She sniffed and gave up on her tantrum.  
  
"Where's your mother?" Sakura asked Koji but realized it was the wrong thing to say a little too late.  
  
"Our biological mother is dead." Koji answered flatly. "Oh, she wasn't that great as a mother. She was forced to marry otousan and then she abused everything and everyone. She died just after Tamashii was born of a drug overdose." She explained quickly, noticing Sakura's embarrassed expression.  
  
"I'm sorry." Sakura mumbled feebly.  
  
"It's ok." Li-sama exclaimed. "At least they had somewhat of a mother figure. She was so beautiful…" he began to drift off in memory of this girl, but shook his head when he noticed his daughter's smiles.  
  
"Oh. Heh heh." He laughed and put his arm behind his head. "I have to go out now so I hope you enjoy yourselves." He exclaimed then turned to his two daughters who had seated themselves at the dining room table and looked at them sternly. "Don't mess around here. There was only one reason I brought you two here, because I wanted to see you before I lost you. Please don't reveal too much now." He finished and stood up straight. Sakura didn't understand anything he was telling his children but didn't say anything because Koji and Tamashii seemed to understand. Li-sama turned around and walked towards the door. He paused for a moment  
  
"Oh and one other thing. Please call me Xiao Lang, Kinomoto-san. I hope we have more time to become better acquainted tomorrow." He exclaimed.  
  
"Then you can call me Sakura, if you'd like." She called to him as he opened the front door.  
  
"I'd like that." He said softly. "I'd like that a lot."  
  
To be continued…  
  
So? How was it? I have something around thirty other ideas but this one was too good to let pass. I just started to type instead of writing it down, which takes more time. If you have anything you want explained…(as much as I can anyways) then just ask! You can also review to tell me what you think something is and I'll tell you if it's right…  
  
There's a kind of small thing behind the two girl's names and if anyone wants me to say what it is, then I'll say that in the beginning of the next chapter.  
  
Please review!!! 


	2. Don't Let Him Go

I don't actually have this one written out…(I've learned somewhat from my mistakes…) and I know the plot is a bit weak but I have some idea at least of what I'm doing…k just read ahead…if you're reading this then you're already farther than I'd ever have thought…heh heh…since this doesn't seem to be turning out to be one of my best fics…. just read…  
  
Dedicated to: Megan (aka- ano…what is it this week?) She's one of my bestest best friends online! Along with others…  
  
Snow bunny- heh heh…you'll like this! It's the story I was talking to you about the other day!  
  
Chris-kun (aka- cbk012) – hey! I haven't spoken with you in a while…come back to msn!!  
  
Misty (aka…I can't remember…) yes I'm still working on my other story called the china doll...which is a sequel to the return…read it!!(Shameless plug…lol)  
  
And last but not least…to the reviewers at media miner…I really am the one posting my fics there…I haven't stolen work from n e one and if I ever do then I'd at least get the author's permission before I go taking credit for it. Please don't have me kicked out!! I really am the one who's been writing this and I appreciate that you say I deserve those tens!! Please review here too!!!  
  
Kura-Kura  
  
Chapter 2 – Don't Let Him Go  
  
Sakura sighed and relaxed a bit on the dark green couch in front of the television (too lazy to deal with abbreviations) and flipped it on. It was around 10:00 pm and the children were sound asleep upstairs. They were perfect angels for her all evening, especially Tamashii. Sakura found that she wasn't even tired like she was with most other children in the neighbourhood. Something in the two girls made them kinder to her than she assumed they would have been to anyone else.  
  
There wasn't anything new on so Sakura decided to call up her boyfriend, hoping that Li-sama wouldn't mind. She punched in the digits and heard the ringing. After the third ring a breathless voice answered the phone.  
  
"M-moshi…m…mo…shi. Manoto residence." A gruff voice sounded on the other end.  
  
"Koshi-chan! It's me Sakura-chan. I'm over at Li-sama's house babysitting. How come you never called me this afternoon?" she asked, sounding slightly disappointed.  
  
"Ano…um…I guess I was just too busy." He casually dismissed the question. "So, kirei Sakura-chan, is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked impatiently, Sakura thought she heard a female voice on the other end but shrugged the idea off.  
  
"No, I guess not. I just wanted to speak with you." There was an audible sigh on the other side but Sakura couldn't tell whether it was in frustration or just a normal sigh.  
  
"Kay. I'm a little busy with…something. I'll see ya tomorrow." He ended quickly and hung up on his girlfriend.  
  
Sakura just stared surprised, at the phone in her hands for a moment then set the phone back down. She could hear keys jingling out on the doorstep and a key turning the lock.  
  
She figured Li-sama was home.  
  
"Hi Li-sama." She greeted him as he walked into the warm house.  
  
"Sakura." he stated more than he greeted.  
  
"Tamashii and Kojika are asleep upstairs. Did you need me to stay here for anything else?" she asked hinting that she needed to be getting home soon.  
  
"No I guess you can be getting home now. Would you like a drive home?" he offered, showing her that his car keys were still in his hands. Sakura smiled and picked up her bag.  
  
"That would be great. Of course that is if it's no trouble to you." She mumbled graciously. His eyes seemed to be filled with a spark of life but his mouth was straight, seeming like there had never been a smile on that face in all his life.  
  
"It's no trouble." He said and led her to his jeep. He held open her door like a perfect gentleman and hopped in on his side.  
  
"So how long have you lived here?" Li-sama asked starting the conversation and the car.  
  
"All my life. Same with my friends." She smiled happily, but frowned slightly when she remembered one friend who wasn't in Tomoeda. "Well, except one."  
  
"And who was that? If you don't mind me prying." He exclaimed he had noticed Sakura's frown and perceiving what she was thinking about he frowned as well.  
  
"He was an old friend of mine but he moved away a long time ago. He probably forgets who I am, now. He left so long ago." She said sadly.  
  
"Now that cant be true. How could someone forget such a wonderful person?" he asked.  
  
"I've only known you a day and already I know that I wont soon forget you."  
  
Sakura blushed a bit at the compliments, but then stopped when she remembered that the man was 36.  
  
"Arigato." She mumbled quietly. "But I don't think he remembers anything about me. And if he does than he probably forgot about his promise. He told me he'd return but it was so long ago and he was engaged then, too."  
  
"So you were in love with this boy?" the shadowed driver asked.  
  
"I guess." Sakura didn't even realise that she was telling an almost complete stranger about Syaoran. She went on. "But he was very stubborn and refused to acknowledge me as his friend much less return my feelings."  
  
"Ah…so much you never knew." Li-sama whispered inaudibly and turned to Sakura.  
  
"You never know." He exclaimed while keeping one eye on the road. "Love can come from many different places and in many different shapes. Did this boy ever become very red around you? Run away from you? Share his deepest secrets with you? That's how you know if someone who's stubborn as that is in love with you." He stated expertly.  
  
"But then why wouldn't he confess to me how he felt if he told me all the other stuff!?" Sakura wailed.  
  
"He must have loved you a lot if he kept certain things from you. He must have thought you didn't feel the same way. Rejection to an open heart is almost deadly to someone like the boy you're talking about. It sounds like he had his steel walls up and you broke them down. If he was rejected by you or even worse…pitied by you then I'm sure he would never have had the courage to fight even for his life." Li-sama's expression changed to one of pain but Sakura didn't notice.  
  
"Do you think he really loved me?" she asked, slightly detached from the rest of the world. She stared out into the cold dark night and sighed.  
  
"Most definitely." He answered. This didn't help Sakura's heart in any way. This meant that he might have left in love with her and she missed her chance to be with him.  
  
"Well that part of me is part of the past and that's where it'll stay. I already have a boyfriend anyways. It's not like Syaoran's going to come back anyways, right?" she asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer.  
  
"You never know." Was all he said.  
  
~~~  
  
When they arrived at her house Sakura picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder and walked up to the front door. Just before she entered her house she turned around and waved to the jeep as it tore down the street. She walked into the dark and quiet house, noting that her father was still in Peru on a dig and her brother was probably working late at his new job. She slipped off her shoes and left her bag at the front door while she went off in search of the light switch. She found it and immediately saw her slippers lying beside her feet.  
  
She slipped them onto her feet and plodded up the stairs to her room. Then something hit her. Not physically but it did send her reeling. 'how did Li- sama know where to drop me off? I don't remember telling him where I lived. Maybe I did and it slipped my mind.' She assured herself but she couldn't shake the fact that something was strange about the man, nor could she persuade herself to believe that she had told him where she lived.  
  
She walked towards the door of her room crying, "Kero I'm home!" but when she reached her room, no one came out to greet her. Curious she walked over to her bed where she found a note addressed to her.  
  
Dear Sakura, I'm at Tomoyo's house…she has a new game and just made some pudding. See ya later.  
  
Kero-chan  
  
She grinned slightly and collapsed on top of her bed. She only had to read the first part, because Kero was always so predictable. There were only three things that would force the little beast away from his game controller and those were new video games, sweets or a Clow card. And Tomoyo usually had two of the three.  
  
Sakura got up from her bed once more and changed quickly into her nightshirt, which was a deep forest green with one tiny pale pink Sakura blossom to the left of her neck. On the bottom of the long shirt were some fancy Chinese characters but she didn't know what they meant. She had gotten it from Syaoran a month before he left and had promised him to look up the meanings but lately it had slipped her mind. She took a deep yawn and stretched her arms high above her head.  
  
Tip-toeing quietly through the hall, as if someone was in the house sleeping, she crept to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. When she got back to her room she was shocked to see another note on her bed. She picked it up slowly, eyeing the carefully folded piece of paper and opened it.  
  
Dearest Sakura,  
  
Though he is in Hong Kong, your Syaoran still thinks of you and longs for your company once again. Don't let him go. It will lead to disastrous things in both of your futures. I should know.  
  
1 In time you may learn who I am…  
  
She wondered for a moment who the letter was from and how it managed to make it's way onto her bed but then sleep overcame her and she drifted to sleep before her thoughts could think of any answers.  
  
~~~  
  
A person cloaked in shadow stared up at the Kinomoto residence. He could tell that the girl inside had fallen asleep and in a blink he had turned off her light for her. Though the lamplight penetrated the dark shadows, his face remained concealed and he nodded his head slowly to the window, acknowledging that she had received his note. Then he turned from the house and walked away. Within seconds he had totally disappeared from sight and no one on the street even knew he had ever been there…  
  
~~~  
  
I know it's kinda short but I wanted it to be finished because I just got the coolest idea in science class today…sowwie…can't spill the beans just yet…heh heh just review! Prettie please? I mean you were nice enough to read so reviewing would be the natural choice…ne? K gotta go put my ideas down in dot doc format!! Ja ne!! 


	3. The Letters

Well…here I am, I told you I'd be here writing down that super sugoi idea!!! But she's not gonna show up for a while…oops…heh heh…you'll just have to read to find out.  
  
Dedicated to: Megan (a.k.a. um…lets just call you SakuraBunnie Da Original) you asked me to type up some more chapters and here they are…even if you have read them before I posted them. I hope you review for me too. I promise to get around to reviewing all of your fics and even finding that *$%@#!^ piece of paper and finishing the next chapter of The China Doll and Yumemiro Hito…even if it's under another name on ff.n… sorry for my language…heh heh  
  
Chris-kun – I guess you weren't expecting this were you?!! Well I was going to put in my best friend but I just found out something horrible and they aren't even going to be considered as one of my friends ever again. I hope you read this and review for me!! Just like you've always done..  
  
Last but not least my new friend Snow Bunny – hi!!! Thanx for talking to such an old person like me cause even if I can't find anyone my age on ff.n to chat about CCS with you are still sugoi to chat with!! See ya lates…p.s. for those of you who are wondering I'm only sixteen not thirty-five like some of you might be thinking. Heh heh  
  
If you review lots of times then I'll dedicate my stories to you…there are even times when I'll write an entire chapter or two just for a popular reviewers entertainment (someone who's been with me from the start).  
  
Just read please…  
  
Kura-Kura  
  
Chapter 3 – the letters  
  
For the next week and a half Sakura would go over to Li-sama's house and baby-sit for Koji and Tamashii and at the end of the day receive a note on her bed begging her not to give up on her love for Syaoran even if she might not know if he truly feels the same.  
  
Each letter would give her a strange sensation…almost as if Syaoran himself had written it but the feeling was slightly different. Unfortunately all those letters did was drive Sakura away from Syaoran and into Koshi's arms, leading her to be blind about his "leisurely activities". She became stubborn and naïve, because she refused to listen to the letters, thinking they would stop…they never did.  
  
Sakura walked up to Li-sama's house and slid her key into the lock. Li-sama had entrusted her very own key for whenever he was late or not there for a day or two. Sakura wondered where he went but didn't really want to pry into his personal business.  
  
"Koji! Tamashii! I'm here!" she cried as she opened the door. The house was completely silent. No one was home. Sakura shut and locked the door behind her and walked into the empty house. When she went into the kitchen she saw something that creeped her out. A small envelope was lying on the table addressed to her. It was in the same paper as the letters she received on her pillow each night. Cautiously she opened the envelope and found a small letter.  
  
Dear Kinomoto-san,  
  
I know you are afraid of me but trust me, I'm trying to save your life…I don't mean you any harm and I realise that I'm driving you to the person I'm trying to protect you from but you have to believe me, I'm here for a reason. I know how you end up and it's not exactly picture perfect. If you don't heed my letters and find a way back to your beloved then you wont be the only one getting hurt. Syaoran will be hurt along with both of your children… I'm trying to get through to Syaoran but he's even worse when it comes to his emotions…he wants to believe that you're only a fading memory, just like what you're trying to do. Do you really want to wait till it's too late to be with Syaoran?  
  
There wasn't any signature but she knew it was from the same person as before. She was surprised to find it in Li-sama's house. They seemed to follow her everywhere. She wondered how this person knew so much about her and how close this person really was to her.  
  
'He could even be Li-sama.' She thought grimly. She sighed in defeat and stuffed the note into her pocket. Just as she was doing this she heard the lock on the front door sliding open and the door opening. Sakura assumed it was Li-sama and the children coming home and went to the hall to greet them. However when she got to the hall she saw someone she didn't expect. There was a girl about her age slipping out of her huge platform boots wearing a short black leathery skirt and a pink sleeveless turtleneck with a black leather vest. Her cinnamon hair was pulled into a high ponytail with strands going everywhere and a pair of pink tinted glasses were seated on her nose. On her back was a large bag, which seemed to hold all of the girl's belongings. The teen turned to Sakura and stopped in her place. She lowered her glasses and glared at Sakura with piercing emerald eyes.  
  
"Who are you? And what the hell are you doing here?" she snapped. Sakura was stunned.  
  
"I could ask you the same question." Sakura shot back.  
  
"I'm supposed to be here. This is my father's house. Now who are you?" she looked like she was ready to attack Sakura, and she could sense a slight magical presence in her aura, which explained why she had no key.  
  
"My name is Sakura Kinomoto and I baby-sit the two children who live here. Li-sama never mentioned another daughter." She said, keeping her annoyance in check.  
  
"Well he wouldn't now would he?" the girl started hostilely. "I'm not really his daughter and he left me behind, with his crummy family while- wait did you say Sakura Kinomoto…as in Kura-Kura?" the girl asked, stopping in mid-sentence when she realised what Sakura had said. Suddenly her frustrated glare turned into the lost look of a young child who lost her mother. It was obvious that the girl was close to tears.  
  
"Ano…I guess. Tamashii calls me that a lot, but I don't understand why. She called me that as soon as she answered the door when I first met her. What's your name?" Sakura asked, finally feeling like her old self when the girl lost her cold glare.  
  
"Nadeshiko…after my grandmother." She said. "Call me Shiko." Shiko was trying valiantly to regain her composure, though Sakura saw that she was having a really hard time.  
  
'Why does everyone have that sort of reaction to me?' she wondered to herself. "Do you know where Li-sama is?" she tried asking to get the girl's mind on something else.  
  
"Ano…iie. I thought he would be home or at least Tamashii or Koji would be here." She answered. "I don't even know why he brought them instead of me…his mission doesn't even directly involve them." She mumbled.  
  
"Nani?" Sakura asked but got a shake of the head in response.  
  
Shika walked to the kitchen and dumped her bag on the table. She walked over to the fridge and took out a can of pop then took a seat beside Sakura on the couch in the living room. She seemed to be preparing for something, but Sakura just relaxed instead of sitting stiffly like Shika was.  
  
Suddenly the thing Shika had been waiting in anticipation for appeared. The lock on the door turned for the third time and in walked Li-sama and his two children. Tamashii was in his arms and Koji was holding his free hand. He walked to the living room and his face lit up when he saw Sakura but quickly turned to shock when he turned to Shika. When his shock seemed to subside his face turned red in anger.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked sternly, controlling his temper as best as he could. Nobody seemed to notice that Sakura was in the room, so she just stayed quiet and watched them. "You shouldn't have come. It was too dangerous for you to come here alone. You're only a teenager." His temper flared.  
  
"If it's so dangerous then why are they here?" she glared back at him, gesturing to his children. "I have more of a right to be here than they do! Just because I'm a teenager doesn't mean I can't handle myself! I told you back home that I was coming here no matter what it took. She was my mother after all. I should be able to see her one last time before my world comes crashing down!!" she was becoming really upset. Her anger was being mixed with frustration and sorrow, making her easily agitated. "You're not the only one with something to lose besides your kids. I have my whole life that could be destroyed!! I would at least like something to do with this and see her once again before I disappear! I would think I have even more right to be here than you!! She was my mother!! If you succeed then you'll get her for the rest of your life but me? I'll just become a faint memory and then I wont exist!!!" she screamed, becoming blue in the face. Sakura was very confused by all this because she had no idea why any of them were here but from their words this was something very big.  
  
Li-sama seemed to be affected by her words and let his shoulders droop and he hung his head sadly.  
  
"You're right. G-gomen nasai." He said Shika looked surprised when she saw tears streaming down his face. "You have more of a right to see your mother than I do."  
  
"I'm sorry." Shika whispered. In truth she had only seen him cry twice, including this time.  
  
Sakura chose this moment to clear her throat and all eyes turned to her. The tension in the room was lifted and it seemed like Li-sama found a new hope.  
  
"Um…gomen nasai, Li-sama for interrupting but I'm afraid I'm just a little bit confused." She remarked in a soft voice. His face brightened and he smiled slightly.  
  
"It's ok. We were just discussing the reason why I came to Japan in the first place. It's no big deal. But please, call me Xiao Lang. Li-sama is much too formal." His smile disappeared.  
  
"Is there anything you want me to do Li-sa- I mean Xiao L-Lang?" She asked stumbling slightly on his name.  
  
"No. I just got home from a trip and these girls came to greet me at the airport. I think I'm going to stay home for tonight but I'd be honoured if you could join us. We're going to the festival. We've been coming here since Koji was 3. It'll be great to see some past ones." He invited.  
  
'Past ones?' Sakura wondered. But she just dismissed it as a grammatical error and nodded her head. Would it be ok if I went home and changed first?" she asked. Xiao Lang smiled and nodded.  
  
She got up off the couch and went to the door, hugging Tamashii and Koji as she went by. But when she went past Xiao Lang she noticed a small piece of paper, which was the same as the letters she had been getting. It was shoved hastily into his pocket and had some writing on it. She was disappointed to see that it was too illegible to make out the name but she was positive that it was for her. She went to the door and picked up her bag and shoved her feet into her shoes. With one last look back at the family she waved.  
  
"Would you like me to pick you up around 7?" Xiao Lang asked as she twisted the doorknob.  
  
"Sure." She replied and rushed out of the house.  
  
'Why would he be sending me those letters?' she wondered. 'It must have been a coincidence…I'm sure you can get that paper anywhere.' She thought to herself, trying to convince herself that she had nothing to be suspicious about. But in the back of her mind something was bothering her. However she didn't seem afraid to suspect Xiao Lang…she didn't feel like she should be wary of him…she only felt that she could trust him.  
  
"Strange." She mumbled to herself as she turned the corner to her house.  
  
~~~  
  
I know it's kind of short but I couldn't think of anything else to put into it. Please review!! I haven't been getting any reviews lately!!! 


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